


Aria for the Lonely Piano

by Chryselis



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ferdie writes fanmail, Garreg Mach is a Music Academy, Hubert is a recluse, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Mutual Pining, Pianist Hubert, Post-Graduation, Rating May Change, References to childhood trauma, Slow Burn, Vocalist Ferdinand, and he needs a hug, they're both youtubers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 21:17:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21434836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chryselis/pseuds/Chryselis
Summary: Ferdinand von Aegir learns to stop using his voice and start using his words.Anonymous YouTube sensation The Gloved Pianist, grip tight on his graduation album, isn't quite prepared to listen.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir & Edelgard von Hresvelg, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 18
Kudos: 119





	Aria for the Lonely Piano

**Author's Note:**

> Pianist Hubert and classical vocalist Ferdinand haven't left my mind since I thought of them weeks ago. So here we are.
> 
> This is the first of a multi-chapter work in collaboration with [the amazing Jano](https://twitter.com/jan0h_), who is also creating some beautiful artwork to go along with the fic.
> 
> Many thanks to our magnanimous beta [Bohemienne](https://twitter.com/bohemienne6) for her support and feedback.
> 
> We hope you'll enjoy this story born from our love for Hubert, Ferdinand, and classical music.

On days when the morning ushers in soft rays of sunshine, enough to go about his routine without reaching for a light switch, Hubert allows himself the thought that he might have found a semblance of peace.

It's the rhythm of drip-dropping coffee brewing, the constant metronome of habit and practiced living. The tune is the same one it’s been ever since he wrote a place for himself away from the noise of others, now five years past their raucous academy days. When he pulls the curtains open just so, light spills over the majority of his living space, stopping right before the small kitchen island where he takes his coffee until the caffeine shakes him awake. Most things are kept white and clean, save for the fresh beans constantly on filter and of course the Gaveau taking center stage of the room, where others might have expected a table or a TV hung on the wall.

Rather than stare out of the window lulled by the rhythm of the drip, it's his lacquered, shining black grand piano that holds his gaze. Nothing has ever captured Hubert’s attention the way music has. Or so he thinks, especially at this stage of life where even his friendship with Edelgard has become regimented around her other obligations. Nothing else had ever really mattered more than his friendship with her, at least not for long, and certainly not in the way he might've thought. But despite the hardships, despite the itch that still tugs at the scarred skin on his hands, music has remained his companion through the thick of it.

_ It's nice _ , he thinks, making the usual round from the window to the piano back to the kitchen in a few steps, _ it's nice to finally have things fall into place. _

Once he inhales his coffee, along with the eggs he remembered to make for once, he takes his usual few minutes to gently moisturize his hands with one of the many hypoallergenic creams he has stashed around the flat. Despite the doctors saying his skin technically healed over and took well to the grafts years ago, the itch rarely seems to leave. It creeps up between the small indentations and the bright seams that mark where old skin meets new. He doesn't pay it much mind though, as long as he's afforded his ritual: gentle cleansing, moisturising three times a day, and, once the cream has settled in, a custom fitted pair of white compression gloves, sleek and discreet.

After carefully sliding the gloves on, he prepares his hands with a few stretches, then settles on the piano stool, where a familiar feeling of peace immediately washes over him. The score is still open on Debussy's_ Prelude No. 8 _ from last night, and he rushes his arpeggio warm-ups to get back to the piece. There's a simple whimsy to the melody that he hasn't allowed himself in a long time, but the number of requests he gets from his viewers to play it has finally gotten too irritating to bear. The notes spill over his fingers despite themselves, “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” all too vivid in his memory still from when he last played it. It's Hubert’s shoulders hunched a little too much in concentration, touch swelling above the “calm and sweetly expressive” Debussy dictates to something Hubert can never forget that his playing is known for _ — _a lack of sensitivity from his gloved touch tuned in to a desire that chases every note, hungry and avid for perfection that'll never be his to keep. It carries sickly and honeyed through the muted acoustics of his city apartment, the intimacy of it nudging his timing out of sync, like the idiot of a boy he was when he first and last played it in the way the tune wants to be played: longing and playful, rather than prickled and tearful. The echo of it hides between the lines of the score and forces his hand on the keys, a voice bright and eager with naive optimism that Hubert can never again replicate.

Something about the simplicity of the notes exhausts him enough to forget his breathing, a few run-throughs laboring his breath like rushing up a few flights of stairs would. When he stops it's with a frown on his face, gloved hands gripping the dark fabric of his jeans.

He said he'd do it. The announcement is public on his last YouTube video already; there's no going back. For all that he has and hasn't done, Hubert has not once broken his word, and considers himself a consummate professional. Besides, his fans are right; it's a bit odd for a pianist whose videos have a large online following mainly thanks to his renditions of nearly the entirety of Debussy's repertoire_ — _his whole repertoire, bar one piece. It's almost... revealing. A slight that needs to be rectified.

_ It's been five years, for god's sake _ , Hubert reminds himself, _ and on top of that it's an insultingly simple and naive piece! _

The embarrassment he feels from the last time he tried to convey something over this tune still hangs over him… and he's determined to vanquish it.

_ A few recordings today _ , he tells himself. _ There's bound to be one that's good enough. Or I can always play it in a totally different cadence and watch Edelgard laugh at the comments when she scrolls through them over lunch with me. _

This thought amuses Hubert enough to set him back on track, taking a customary break from his warm-up to go and answer business emails, which in his case mostly involves using his polite "No, I have not revised my policy on public performances" macro or sending the "for private tutelage, please refer to the booking options on my website" one.

A quick stop by the bathroom and another cup of coffee ready, he retreats to the tiny extra room he's repurposed into a makeshift office. In the precious few seconds it takes his laptop to boot up, he contentedly takes in the soothing aroma wafting from the cup he holds in one hand, while the other settles on the mouse and clicks over to his inbox on autopilot.

And then he freezes.

It has to be a cruel joke. The comments on every single one of Hubert’s videos are already bad enough that he's had to tell Edelgard to stop mentioning them whenever she presents to him the customary highlights of the comments section, but seeing the name land in his business inbox is enough to make his hands feel sweaty and clammy. They haven’t spoken directly in five years. The pull of curiosity is strong, though, and there's no going back once the email opens from a simple click. It reads:

> _ Dear Gloved Pianist, _
> 
> _ I hope you will not mind me contacting you via your business inquiry address, but since it seems you do hold yourself to your word and never read the comments on your channel, I finally decided to risk it and reach out to you in this way. _
> 
> _ No doubt someone as talented as you receives praise constantly, but please allow me to add to it. _
> 
> _ As a classically trained vocalist, I've worked with many pianists over the course of my musical education, although I chose not to pursue singing as a full-time career. Your recordings surpass anything I've ever heard before, although they hold a certain nostalgia to them that always brings me back to my school days, perhaps because I was less jaded then _ _ — _ _ but I digress. _
> 
> _ From the exactitude of your pace and tone on Scriabin's Etude in D sharp minor op. 8 no. 12 to the swooping waves of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto no.1 in B flat minor, there is never a moment when your playing doesn't have me on the edge of my seat, headphones on and eyes closed in utter bliss at hearing the piano played with such mastery. _
> 
> _ I've become a fervent fan of yours over the past few years, and finally have the courage to make a selfish request: would you be interested in doing a long-distance collaboration? _
> 
> _ If the rather personal and emotional tone of my proposal bothers you, then let me also highlight the numbers: from what I gather we're both rather popular personas within the online classical music community, with opposite styles of producing. Your minimalist filming, the gloves, the lack of personal details is in total opposite to my more open style of vlogging and giving context to the pieces I perform. We both have six-figure subscribers and active comment sections with regulars, not to mention that a large portion of our viewer bases intersect. We also both gained a significant amount of notoriety thanks to viral videos doing classical takes on contemporary music.Taking advantage of an untapped audience on each other's channels would be a good marketing move, especially given your secretive brand _ _ — _ _ although that's exactly why I understand working with someone may not fit your modus operandi. _
> 
> _ In any case, I hope you'll spare my channel a quick glance and consider this request seriously. I don't doubt that you get dozens of these emails in your inbox daily, so I wouldn't dare wait on a reply. _
> 
> _ It feels silly writing you this, really, when your music alone is enough to make me happy. But the music lover in me cannot help but dream of a collaboration that would carry something we both love to a wider audience, while making our passions more rentable in the process. Should you agree, I look forward to hearing from you with any terms or considerations, or even suggestions as to what form the collaboration might take. I have plenty of ideas myself, of course, but wouldn't want to bombard you with them without you first showing any interest! _
> 
> _ Just know that as long as you keep sharing your playing, I'll be there in the front row of your audience _ _ — _ _ subscription alerts go a surprisingly long way towards recreating that feeling. Consider me an admirer, and, hopefully, a future colleague. _
> 
> _ Kind regards, _
> 
> _ Ferdinand Von Aegir _

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk Debussy to me baby on Twitter @ [Chryseliss](https://twitter.com/chryseliss) and [Jano](https://twitter.com/jan0h_)
> 
> Coming next... Ferdinand is not at all obsessed with the Gloved Pianist YouTuber, OK?


End file.
